Novelty pendulum mechanism



March 26, 1940.

o. H. HURST 2,195,311

NOVELTY PENDULUM MECHAN I Sll Filed Nov. 27, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Inventor: Orion H. Hurst,

Attorney.

Mqrch 26, 1940. Q H, HURST 2,195,311

NOVELTY PENDULUM MECHANI SM Filed Nov. 27, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.8.

Fig.5. Fig.6.

4 II I Elect r-Lc Toaster Pig/l.

Inventor: Orion H. HUT st i Att ornqy and methods of driving them. froma suitable gas source controlled by a valve It is an object of myinvention to provide novel It. and improved toys, advertising devices,and tim- It will be seen that the suspended member or ing devices,particularly such devices with concanopy H consists of sheet material inthe form cealed or unobvious driving force. of a cone generated byelements passing through Another object of the invention is to providethe apex of the cone. Since the cone is suspended temperature alarms.with the apex upward, the apex is above the cen- Still another object ofmy invention is to proter of gravity of the cone and is on the linepassvide an improved ratchet device. ing through the center of gravityof the cone and Other and further objects and advantages will the pointof suspension, that is, the portion of become apparent as thedescription proceeds. the knife edge l4 bearing the eye l3.

In accordance with my invention in its pre- It may be necessary to startthe operation of Patented Mar. 26, 1940 2,195,311

UNITED'STATES PATENT OFFICE NOVELTY PENDULUM MECHANISM Orion H. Hurst,Morristown, N. J., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporationof New York Application November 27, 1936, Serial No. 113,047

6 Claims. v(c1. 60-9) My invention relates to pendulum mechanisms knifeedge l4 above a gas burner l5 supplied ferred form I provide a canopywhich is in the the device by deflecting the cone H to either side shapeof a hell or an inverted cone and is freely of its equilibrium positionby hand. Once the suspended in the air above a source of heat so cone isdeflected, however, the upward forces exthat the convection currentsstrike the canopy. erted thereon by the rising current of air be- Uponstarting the canopy in oscillation, the force come unbalanced and thecone is further deof the convection current becomes unbalanced flectedwith greater and greater force owing to the and causes the canopy toswing further one way fact that one side of the cone presents a greateror the other to a given limit, depending upon the and greater surface tothe force of the air and force exerted and, thus, the canopy ismaintained the other side presents a smaller and smaller in oscillation.surface. For example, when the cone is deflected The invention may beunderstood more readily to the left, the horizontal projection of theside from the following detailed description when conl1 becomesprogressively greater and departs fursidered in connection with theaccompanying ther and further from the pivot center l4 so that drawings,and the features of the invention which the deflecting force increases.The deflecting are believed to be novel and patentable will be forcecontinues to increase until it is overcome pointed out in the claimsappended hereto. In by the increasing effect of the force of gravity,

the drawings, Fig. 1 represents one embodiment whereupon the cone llfalls to its middle posiof my invention in which a gas flame-is used asa tion, is carried past the middle position by insource of heat; Fig. 2illustrates an embodiment ertia, and deflects in the other directionuntil it of my invention taking the form of a novelty deassumes theposition Hi. If the gas flame I9 vice or toy and also illustrates theuse of my inissuing from the burner I5 is turned up, the amvention as atemperature alarm; Fig. 3 illustrates plitude of the oscillations of thecone I l increases, 5

an embodiment of the invention taking the form whereas, if the gas flameI9 is turned down, the

of a timing device for an electric toaster; Fig. 4 amplitude decreases.The apparatus thus afillustrates another embodiment of the inventionfords not merely a novel and somewhat mystifyserving as a clock; Figs. 5and 6 are aside view ing arrangement for producing oscillations but anda front view, respectively, of a magnetic also provides an arrangementfor controlling the (0 ratchet device which may be employed inconamplitude of the oscillations. It will be undernection with theembodiments of Figs. 3 and 4 stood that suitable sizes and arrangementsof and Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the pendent parts will suggestthemselves to those skilled in cone shown in the other figures. Likereference the art according to the equipment at hand and characters areutilized throughout the drawing the purpose for which the apparatus isto be used.

to designate like parts. Although satisfactory operation may be obtainedReferring now more in detail to Fig. 1 reprenotwithstanding substantialvariations in proporsenting a simple form of the invention by way tion,for the sake of illustration, I shall state cerof illustration, there isa canopy or inverted cone tain specific values which I have found toproll (shown in perspective in Figure 7), open at duce successfuloperation. In the arrangement of 5 0. the bottom l2, and preferablycomposed of rela- Fig. 1 the canopy H may be conical in shape withtively light material, such as paper, parchment, an altitude of 2 inchesand a base diameter of or other suitable material of sufficientlightness 4 inches and the gas burner I5 may be one of the andstiffness. The canopy l is pivotally sussize most commonly used inordinary household pended by means of an eye l3, resting upon a gasranges. When such a canopy was suspended i about a foot above the gasburner an amplitude of swing of at least 30 degrees was maintained withthe gas turned down to the lowest point at which it would continueburning. Since a pendulum tends to oscillate with the same time periodwith small changes of amplitude, the device may also be used as a timingdevice or as the driving element of a clock.

In Fig. 2, I have illustrated the use of the oscillating canopy inconnection with a toy or novelty advertising device in which a teeter20, a swing, or other similar toy, carrying two figures 2| and 22attached to the suspended canopy H, is kept in oscillation by aconcealed heat source 23 which may take the form of an electric heaterunder a plate 24 flush with the floor 25 of a show case or counter. Itwill be understood, of course, that the teeter 28 and the figures 2| and22 are preferably of extremely light construction such as Celluloid orother hollow ware.

In order to provide an alarm in case of overheating of the coil 23, alimit stop 26 is provided, which consists of a lever pivoted at 27carrying a bell clapper 28 co-operating with an alarm bell 29. When thetemperature of the heater 23 or the heat produced thereby exceeds apredetermined value, the arnplitude of oscillation of the cone itbecomes so great that the limit stop 26 is struck by the teeter 20,causing the clapper 28 to strike the bell 29 and give the alarm. Ifdesired, an electrical temperature or heat alarm may be utilized, inwhich case, a source of current 38 and a current-responsive device orrelay iii are provided which are so connected to the clapper 28 and thebell 29 that an electrical circuit is closed through the relay 3! whenthe clapper 28 strikes the bell 29.

In Fig. 3, there is shown an electric toaster 32, which is energized bycurrentsource 33. A pivotally suspended cone H, similar to thoseillustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, is hung above the toaster 32 so as to becaused to oscillate by the heat produced by the toaster. A ratchet 34 isattached to the cone ii and a ratchet wheel 35 co-operating therewith isprovided so that the oscillation of the cone ii causes progressiverotation of the ratchet wheel 35. A switch 36 in series with the currentsource 33 and the toaster 32 is also provided, having a stationarycontact 31 and a movable contact 38. The movable contact 38 ismechanically connected to the ratchet wheel 35 by suitable gearing sothat the contact 38 is rotated in a clockwise direction at a uniformrate and, after a predetermined time interval, rides off the ends of thestationary contact 3'! so as to open the electrical circuit of thetoaster 32. It will be understood that the apparatus is so adjusted thatthe current to the toaster '32 is cut off after a time intervalcorresponding to that required to toast bread in the toaster the desiredamount. It will also be understood that the construction is made aslight and as low in friction as possible. If desired, a relay may beemployed for breaking the toaster circuit in order to lighten theconstruction of the switch 36.

In the arrangement of Fig. 4, an electric lamp 39 serves as the sourceof heat and may be energized by either alternating or direct current.The ratchet wheel 35, which is similar to that described in connectionwith Fig. 3, is connected by means of suitable clockwork gearing 40 tothe hour hand 4| and the minute hand 42, respectively, of a clock. Theapparatus of Fig. 4 thus serves as a simple clock which may be driven byeither alternating current or direct current and,

while obviously not of a high degree of accuracy, will keep time withfair accuracy owing to the tendency of the pendulum cone H to oscillatewith a uniform time period. The apparatus is also of interest foradvertising purposes as it provides a timekeeping mechanism with adriving force which will not readily be apparent even to persons of somescientific knowledge. It thus serves to attract attention foradvertising purposes.

Although I have shown mechanical ratchets in the embodiments of Figs. 3and 4, it will be understood that my invention is not limited to theprecise construction shown therein. For example, if desired, a magneticratchet may be employed for converting the oscillatory motion of thecone I I into rotary motion. The magnetic ratchet device of Figs. and 6is relatively uncritical in amplitude factor so that it will cause therotary element to advance one pitch at each swing of the cone eventhough the amplitude of the swing of the latter should vary withinreasonable limits.

When employing the form of magnetic ratchet device shown, the cone H ismounted on a freely rotatable shaft 43, and the shaft 43 also carries aU-shaped permanent magnet 44 having pole pieces or polarized portions45. Any suitable mounting arrangement may be employed for making theshaft 43 freely rotatable, that is, for obtaining relatively lowfriction. For example, the ends of the shaft 43 may be formed ashardened conical pivots cooperating with jewel bearings 43". A magneticratchet wheel 46 is provided, which is mounted on a rotatable shaft 4'!and includes a plurality of spokes or pole pieces 48. To avoid confusionin the drawings, eight pole pieces 48 are shown but preferably I employa ratchet wheel with sixteen or more such pole pieces in order to obtainsatisfactory operation with relatively small amplitude of swing of thecone H. The ratchet wheel 46 is composed of magnetizable material, suchas soft iron, and is so mounted that the pole pieces 48 may rotatethrough the zone of influence of the pole pieces 45 of the permanentmagnet 44 as the latter oscillates. There is also a stationary U-shapedpermanent magnet 49 so mounted that the pole pieces 48 pass through thezone of influence of the magnet 49 as the ratchet wheel 46 rotates.However, the relative strengths and mounting positions of the magnetsare such that the attraction of the magnet 49 is weaker than that of themagnet 44 when the magnet 44 is in the right-hand position 50 shown infull lines in Fig.

6 and is stronger than the attraction of the magnet 44 when the lattermagnet is in the left-hand position 5| shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6.

As the cone II and the permanent magnet 44 oscillate, the pole portions45 of magnet 44 intermittently approach one of the pole pieces 48 of theratchet wheel 46. Upon reaching the position 5|] shown in Fig. 6, themagnet 44 attracts one of the pole pieces 48 and, during the returnswing to the left, the ratchet wheel 46 is caused to rotate, theattraction of the stationary magnet 49 being overcome. However, afterthe magnet 44 has traveled through an angle corresponding toapproximately a half pole pitch of the ratchet wheel 46, the attractionbetween the magnet 44 and the nearest pole piece 48 becomes relativelyweak and further rotation of the ratchet wheel 46 is then produced bymomentum and by the attraction of the permanent magnet 49 for one of theapproaching pole pieces 48 until the approaching pole piece has reachedits closest position to the stationary magnet 48. The ratchet wheel 48then remains in the same position during the next right-hand swing ofthe permanent magnet 44 until after the extreme 0 certain embodiments ofmy invention and certain methods of operation embraced therein for thepurpose of explaining its principle and showing its application, but itwill be obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications andvariations are possible and I aim, therefore, to {cover all suchmodifications and variations as tall within the scope of my inventionwhich is delined in the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by 20 Letters Patent oi theUnited States is:

1. In a horologlcal device, a pendular mechanism including a hollow conefreely suspended to allow oscillation, a heating device below said conefor causing convection currents to flow upward against said cone andoscillate it, and mechanism a for converting oscillation of saidpendular mechanism into rotary motion.

2. In combination an electrical heating device with a supply circuitincluding a movable switch normally continuously closed during operationof the device, a convection motor supported above the heating device soas to be actuated by convection currents rising Irom said device, and anoperative connection between said motor and switch for moving the switchto an open position in response to operation of said motor.

3. A supply circuit for an electric heating device and a convectionmotor adapted to be supported above the position in which a device may 0be electrically connected to the supply circuit so that the motor isactuated by convection currents rising from the device, said circuitincluding a movable switch normally continuosly closed during operationof a device connected to the circuit and having an operative connectionto said motor for being moved to open position in response to operation01 the motor.

4. A temperature alarm comprising in combination, a source of heatplaced in the open so as to cause convection currents to rise therefrom,a pendular mechanism including a suspended hollow cone pivotally mountedabove said source of heat and capable oi. being oscillated by suchconvection currents, and an alarm so located as to be operated by saidpendular mechanism when oscil- I lation thereof exceeds a predeterminedangle.

5. In combination a suspended member comprising sheet material in a formgenerated by elements passing through a point which is above the centerof gravity of the member and is on a line through the point ofsuspension and the center oi. gravity of the member, said suspendedmember being capable of being oscillated by convection currents, a heatproducing device located under said member for causing convectioncurrents to flow upward against said member and a motion responsivedevice so located as to be operated by said suspended member whenoscillation thereof exceeds a predetermined angle.

6. In combination a hollow suspended member comprising sheet materialformed with a broad open base downward and a relatively narrow apex,said suspended member being capable of being oscillated by convectioncurrents, a heat producing device located under said member causingconvection currents to flow upward against said member and a motionresponsive device so located as to be operatedby said suspended memberwhen oscillation thereoi exceeds a predetermined angle.

ORION H. BURST.

